As we noted in a recent post, on-premises computer systems have seen a gradual decline since cloud computing gained popularity over a decade ago. And, with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis accelerating that trend, businesses that still have onsite servers should consider a decision to eliminate the server room now and post-COVID-19.
For one, the work from home (WFH) pattern might continue for a long time. Many employers have announced the extension of WFH policies through the fall and into next year. Regardless of how COVID-19 plays out, businesses of all sizes can and should consider the best use of their assets and space going forward.
Problems and Costs of a Server Room
Almost every modern business requires servers to run a website and applications to manage internal processes. For many existing businesses, that means an onsite server room. Today, businesses increasingly take advantage of off-site or cloud servers, through infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offerings from managed IT services providers.
As you know, server rooms require air conditioning, fire suppression, racks to hold equipment, networking routers, switches, firewalls, cabling, reliable power and security. Moreover, they may suffer damage from excess temperature, humidity, vibration, water or intentional destruction.
IT experts estimate the average hourly cost for the downtime of a computer network at $10,000 or more depending on the size of the business. According to Cloud Radar, over half of businesses need more than one hour to recover a crashed application.
So, consider how much you are paying to operate, maintain and upgrade on-premises servers over their typical lifetime (usually five years). Figure the direct costs of hardware, space, electricity, and HVAC. Then add indirect costs, like employee time for system administration, and hidden costs like lost productivity due to down time.
When you add it all up, you may find that on-premises servers are costing you more than you want to pay.
Instead of continuing to invest in expensive servers and support equipment, which is not economical for most businesses, you can pay a monthly fee and receive the latest enterprise-grade server solutions located in a secure data center with 24X7 technical support.
Why Eliminate the Server Room?
Business Advantages – In addition to the obvious appeal of no capital expenditures for servers and ongoing server room costs, those who choose to move it all to the cloud enjoy these business benefits:
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- No on-site IT team or expert needed
- Increased performance and flexibility
- Enhanced Collaboration with file sharing, content sharing, etc. from anywhere
- Improved customer support (Source: IDG)
- Getting the latest and greatest updates faster
Notably, SMBs report that third-party cloud platforms are 40% more cost-effective than maintaining in-house servers and systems. (Source: Multisoft)
Rapid Growth. The functionality of on-premises servers is readily available in scalable cloud solutions. Hence, the cloud is the best choice for small companies seeking fast growth. Rather than quickly outgrowing servers, the cloud stretches easily to enable rapid expansion.
More Focus on the Business. Cloud solutions allow business leaders to focus more on their business. They spend less of their time managing hardware and maintenance, and more time acquiring and retaining clients while pursuing their passion.
Improved Security. According to Salesforce, 94% of businesses report significant improvements in online security after moving their data to the cloud.
What to do with the extra office space?
With an empty server room, you may find that you can generate some cash by renting out the space. It could serve as an extra office or just available desk space. If it doesn’t work for anything else, you could offer to rent storage space to another company. It could also function as IT space for their servers and network equipment.
The old server room could become a spot for hot desks while increasing your seating flexibility to spread out employees. It might work well as a collaborative space or small meeting room.
Make it look nice by decorating the walls with branded décor and colors. Transform the room into café space, a lounge area, or a break-out room for TV and computer games. Or, you could use it to display company trophies and awards. The possibilities for productive use and morale boosting are endless.
Get Ready for the Return
We all want to survive the COVID-19 crisis and return to prosperity. While it continues, you can boost your productivity to a whole new level with fast, reliable, and flexible Cloud services from eMazzanti Technologies.
Cloud servers make it easy to securely access your data from anywhere, enabling you to work through the current crisis. You’ll save money on IT infrastructure, optimize your WFH employees, and become more agile than your competitors.
Take advantage of this empty office period to eliminate your server room and transform the space into something more productive. When it’s time for employees to return to the office, a transformed server room and other COVID-19 productivity improvements from eMazzanti Technologies will infuse new energy into the organization.
